Thursday, September 27, 2018

While you're off enjoying Lodge Life, take a Nature Walk. Our second fall-inspired collection from Kanvas, Nature Walk is rich with realistic foliage, textured tree bark, and round log slices. Perfect for a quilt to get back to nature!

Monday, September 24, 2018

Get into the right frame of mind with Lodge Life, our new collection from Kanvas. Pack up your car, head to a charming cabin in the woods (complete with Adirondack chairs!), and pull on that plaid flannel shirt! You can get back to nature and cuddle under a quilt made with this deep woods-inspired fabric line.

You can almost smell the campfires already, can't you?

Watch for our Wilderness Retreat free quilt pattern, available soon on the website!

Thursday, September 20, 2018

Gorgeous blues and yellows are so cheery! It's one of our favorite color combinations, and we've used it in the Gabrielle collection. Large and medium florals mix with geometric mini prints, tonals, and a fantastic floral stripe. Use these fabrics for a bedroom redo, a cozy quilt for the sunroom, or kitchen accessories!

Download our free quilt pattern, Signs of Spring, to make your own quilt using the classic blues and yellow from the Gabrielle collection!

Monday, September 17, 2018

What does your field of dreams look like? Delicate wildflowers, big blooms, rich colors? Our Field of Dreams, a new collection from Kanvas, is packed with gorgeously detailed florals touched with metallic gold.

Fussy cut this verstaile stripe for borders, sashing, and even blocks.

The floral prints pop on a black background:

A garden lover's dream:

Soft leafy and scroll coordinates contrast with the floral prints for maximum impact.

Sew an elegant butterfly-themed star quilt with the free pattern available on our website:

Saturday, September 15, 2018

We hope you've felt inspired by Cherry's Words to Live By fabrics this week! Today we're sharing a virtual trunk show of Cherry's quilts made with her fabrics. Enjoy!

City Block

59" x 77"

"The title says it all. The quilts loo like city blocks with little connecting shapes. It's all appliqued, and it's the same block, just rotated so they connect. I used the appliques to create the transparent effect."

"This one is fun because it includes words. In my Front Porch collection, I had a bee print and really liked it. I started creating cute little sayings that started with "bee." It's a small and super easy project with a small amount of hand embroidery for the words and spirals."

Alphabet Soup48" x 58""This includes appliques for the entire alphabet in upper and lower case, plus the flowers and keys. The pattern comes with instructions to make the quilt shown, but you can also make your own word quilt. I give you the templates and a grid, plus a formula to figure out yardage, and you can build your own. There's also Alphabet Soup in the Hoop - for all the shapes done in a standard hoop on your embroidery machine. You can stitch out each letter with a satin stitch or blanket stitch finish. It takes all of 5 minutes to do a letter."

Click here to purchase the Alphabet Soup pattern.

Buon Appetito

12" x 32" wall hangings

18" x 13" place mats

"I'm teaching in Italy in October, so it was perfect to give this pattern an Italian name. I wanted this line to be home decor friendly. I used the idea of my Bon Appetit pattern but redid it with more elegance--more formal silverware on a pieced background made from the wood grain and lace print. The tables have an educational purpose--most people know where the fork and spoon go, but it's great to have on the kitchen table for when your kids or grandkids set the table."

Friday, September 14, 2018

Welcome to our Words to Live By hop, featuring Cherry Guidry's new collection. We're excited to share four projects with you this week. Each day you'll also have a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of some of the Words to Live By fabric. Enjoy!

Mary @ Needled Mom says, "I chose to do the Disappearing Hourglass pattern to highlight the fabrics. I so enjoyed the beautiful prints in this line and the colors are so calming." Isn't her quilt beautiful? Love that stripe in the border! Head over to Mary's blog to see more and enter to win a fat quarter bundle of Words to Live By fabrics.

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Welcome to our Words to Live By hop, featuring Cherry Guidry's new collection. We're excited to share four projects with you this week. Each day you'll also have a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of some of the Words to Live By fabric. Enjoy!

Today's inspiration comes from Carol @Just Let Me Sew. She used blocks from the Love panel in her design. Head over to her blog to see more photos of the quilt, including close-ups of her flower applique. You'll also have a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of Cherry's fabrics.

Carol: "This quilt is called 'Love Is All You Need' because I love that song and was excited to see that saying in Cherry's love panel."

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Welcome to our Words to Live By hop, featuring Cherry Guidry's new collection. We're excited to share four projects with you this week. Each day you'll also have a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of some of the Words to Live By fabric. Enjoy!

Today's project is a tutorial we're sharing right here on the blog for the Happiness Wall Hanging. It's perfect for a kitchen or foyer wall--a visual reminder to find the happy things in life. The wall hanging combines fussy cut sections of the panel with coordinates and sews up very quickly! Don't forget to scroll through the whole tutorial to find out how to win a fat quarter bundle of Words to Live By prints.

Row 10: Fussy-cut (1) 8" x 3-1/2" If you want to find happiness... piece. Sew to the left side of (1) 7" x 3-1/2" yellow medallion piece. Fussy-cut (1) 14-1/2" x 4" There is no way to happiness... piece and sew to the bottom. Fussy cut (1) 10-1/2" x 7" The happiest people... piece and sew to the right side. Fuse two red words hearts to the yellow piece.

Row 11: (1) 1-1/2" x 24-1/2" red words strip

Row 12: (1) 3" x 24-1/2" gray medallion strip

Assemble the QuiltSew the rows together in the order listed. Layer the quilt top with backing and batting and quilt as desired. Use the (4) 2-1/4" x 42" gray key strips to bind the quilt.

Isn't the daisy print perfect on the back?

Simply wavy lines add quilting texture without distracting from the words in this wall hanging.

For a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of Words to Live By prints, leave a comment below letting us know how you follow Benartex. Please also tell us which of Cherry's three panels you like the best: Love, Happiness, or Joy. Giveaway is open to US residents only through Sunday, September 16th at 11:59 pm EDT.

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Welcome to our Words to Live By hop, featuring Cherry Guidry's new collection. We're excited to share four projects with you this week. Each day you'll also have a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of some of the Words to Live By fabric. Enjoy!

Today Alison from Little Bunny Quilts is sharing a tutorial to make her Chit Chat Placemats using 3" squares of the fabric. Fun and easy to make! Head over to Alison's blog to check out the tutorial and enter to win a bundle of fabric.

Monday, September 10, 2018

We're featuring Cherry Guidry's new collection, Words to Live By. And that's exactly what these fabrics are! Today we're introducing the fabrics; then Tuesday through Friday we'll be sharing four projects made using Words to Live By fabric, and Saturday we'll be sharing Cherry's designs in a virtual trunk show. Enjoy!

What inspired the Words to Live By collection?
Basically the title says it all. I love having quotes here and there. Words are
powerful. Especially if you’re having a really rough day or if life is a little
hectic, it’s great to see positive words that bring you back. In my studio, I
have a sign that says “Start each day with a grateful heart.” It’s a great
reminder—we get so caught up in everything and forget how much we have to be
grateful for.

Tell us about the color palette.

It’s a softer palette. Of course it includes aqua—one of my
favorites. Gray is so big in home décor right now. You also see barn wood red
and yellow. I wanted the palette to feature home décor colors.

This collection has three different panel prints.
Yes – happiness, joy and love. Both happiness and joy are great for quilt
backings—I love the way it looks to do that because you can flip the quilt over
and still have a nice design on the back. You can cut out specific phrases and
use them for small wall hangings, mug rugs, or pillows, focusing on the quote
you like.

The love panel is a little different—it’s 7” x 9” blocks. You
can just add a border for a simple quilt, or fussy cut the blocks and border
them.

Can you introduce us to a few of the other prints?
There’s also a word stripe—it uses the phrases from the panels. I love stripes—they
make such great bindings.

The keys are another home dec-inspired print. They have a
stripe feel to them as well.

The tiny words print features individual words, not phrases.
I love having a print like this for applique.

The modern lace print is such a soft, nice background. I
like how it looks against the wood grain—texture on texture.

The wood grain idea is so popular in home décor right now,
and it offers so much options in fabric. It has that farmhouse look. It’s my
favorite, and I’d love it on the walls in my house.

The daisy print came about because I decided the collection
needed a floral. It’s a cute print, and great for borders.